This book starts off with a promising plot, and a new twist on the Cinderella tale. A duke sees a lady at his ball, she’s gorgeous, intriguing, and very obviously wasn’t invited. And yet. . .there’s something about her.

It isn’t until the end of the ball that someone comes up and asks him not just about the girl, but about her dress. You see that gown was made for their daughter who went missing many years ago, and the gown is identical. So now the duke has an even bigger mystery on his hands than just who she is.

Isabella is just the daughter of a carriage driver. Her parents have worked for a year to get Mr. Roberts to propose to her, and while Isabella knows she’ll have to marry him, she figures just once, she’d like to do something amazing. So she dons the gown she finds in the attic and sneaks into the Kingsborough Ball. Just looking is enough for her, but after several dances and being introduced to many of the Duke’s family, she finds she could grow to like the Duke of Kingsborough.

The identity of Isabella is discovered rather quickly, which I liked, but I didn’t like how slow the plot became after that. The romance is also very slow, and the obstacle in their path is moveable. I also didn’t like how the duke was constantly painted in a bad light for every way he tried to court Isabella. There is a small hiccup in their relationship later on due to a jealous miss, but even that wasn’t used to its full potential.

If you’re looking for a sweet romance with not much in the way of action, then this is your book.